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CORNWALL HOMECHOICE PROPERTY EMPTY FOR 100 DAYS (UP-DATE).

CORNWALL HOMECHOICE PROPERTY EMPTY FOR 100 DAYS UP-DATE.

CORNWALL HOMECHOICE PROPERTY EMPTY FOR 100 DAYS (UPDATE).

Blog entered 2 May 2014

HOMECHOICE PROPERTY REF : 13728 (UP-DATE).

The 1 Bedroom Ground Floor Flat at Timber Close, St Austell, was advertised through Cornwall Homechoice between 18 to 22 January 2014. The property is owned by one of Cornwall Council’s Homechoice housing partners Sanctuary Housing, also my landlord, and the picture shows the flat in question.

Although there are currently over 28,000 applicants registered with Cornwall Homechoice and only a small number of vacancies each week according to the Council, this Homechoice property disappeared off the radar so to speak.

The property had not been declared on the Council’s ‘Recent Lets’ ‘Outcomes for CBL’ website information to assist Homechoice bidders and it has not been re-advertised.

According to Jon Warner, Homechoice Manager West/Central, Cornwall Housing Limited, on 18 March 2014, “we have made a nomination to Sanctuary Housing and they are considering this applicant”, unquote.

According to Helen Harding, Sanctuary Housing Operations Manager – South West, on 8 April; 2014, “With regard to the void property in Timber Close and the length of time it has remained empty ; I can assure you that we have followed the correct procedure in this case”, unquote.

The lost revenue on this property now exceeds £1,000.00 and it is not known if the Council will reimburse Sanctuary, a Charity, or if Sanctuary will simply recoup it’s losses by increasing it’s Rent or Service Charges in July 2014.

In response to my blog of 28 April 2014, I lodged a formal complaint with Cornwall Council yesterday regarding the lack of transparency regarding this property and I await a reply.

Since yesterday the Council’s ‘Recent Lets’ ‘Outcomes for CBL’ website information has been up-dated to include an entry for the property.

(a) The total number of bidders was higher than I thought it would be at 160 bids.

(b) The effective date was earlier than I thought it would be at 04/12/2013.

(c) The ‘Preference / Eligibliities applied’ is indicated Y (Yes) and the property was advertised without any preferences and was open to all bandings. ‘Band D’ is indicated.

I visited the property during the writing of this up-date and it is still empty. Only time will tell if the property was ‘ringfenced’ for certain types despite false statements made by Vinson and Mansell MBE for and on behalf of the Council.

It should also be acknowledged that the Local Government Ombudsman was “Investigating” the Council at the time this property was advertised and ruled “The Council has not unfairly allocated properties in favour of certain applicants or breached its housing allocation policy”, unquote.

The truth is the Ombudsman did not investigate any of the evidence offered to her regarding Homechoice properties being covertly allocated to certain types of applicants. That genuine Homechoice bidders were deceived, some advertised properties were coverty furnished/part furnished and that disabled applicants were also discriminated against as specially adapted properties were awarded to these certain types of applicants, namely the homeless and alcoholics, without a medical need of the adaption.

The above charade was a wilfull conspiracy by the LGO, Sanctuary Housing and Cornwall Council to protect the Council and Sanctuary. Cornwall Council because it was it’s agenda and it’s responsibility to re-house these certain types and Sanctuary because it agreed to the Council’s covert nominations which meant both wilfully broke the law, both wilfully abused Homechoice and both wilfully decieved Homechoice applicants and bidders.

As for the LGO even the Government and politicians know it is a perverse institution but one which makes dirty Councils look clean. So much so that I am reminded of the following quotation : that the Local Government Ombudsman “Operate the most perverse and publicly criticised system of administrative justice in the world”, unquote.

A corrupt Ombudsman who made her ‘Final Decision’ in favour of Cornwall Council before I had even read the Council’s reply to my complaint. An Ombudsman I accused of cultivating corruption rather than ending it in the public interest.

I will provide a further up-date once Cornwall Council responds to my formal complaint.